Performing the “People's Palace”

Abstract

This article examines the production of space through musical performance at the Chicago Cultural Center. Concerts at the Cultural Center produce space on the scale of the building, the city of Chicago, and the world. The process of the social production of space is examined through musical performance in terms of the relation between music and place, performance practices, and aural space. An analysis of the production of space in musical performances on multiple spatial scales provides a means of moving past the common distinctions made between material space, representations of space, and social space to a more integrated understanding of social space.

“Ground-Truthing” Representations of Social Space

“…This list of works shows a rich variety in how the conceptual triad is interpreted and applied in terms of scale, disciplines, and topics. Several writers focus specifically on problems of representation, so although other aspects of the triad may be mentioned, they are undeveloped in terms of analysis (e.g., Roberts and Schein 1995;Liggett 1995;Peterson 2002;Dobers 2004). Few writers are concerned with the implications of their analysis for planning or development, which makes their work less immediately relevant for the planning field.…”

Sarajevska Zima

“…As Peterson (2002) writes, "all space is social." Sarajevska Zima is another example of a way of "moving past the distinctions often made between material space, representations space, and social space" (Peterson, 2002, p. 253).…”

“…For the tourist or foreign artist visiting Sarajevo for Sarajevska Zima, the city is a case study of inadvertent dark tourism meets visual culture. As Peterson (2002) writes, "all space is social." Sarajevska Zima is another example of a way of "moving past the distinctions often made between material space, representations space, and social space" (Peterson, 2002, p. 253).…”